Diamond Shoals Light Tower

[Merman Dan]

Earlier today I discovered this link (http://hamptonroads.com/2012/08/perhaps-north-carolina-light-station-could-be-yours) , describing a "light tower", a decommissioned lighthouse built on an oil platform, for sale off the coast of North Carolina. It's 13 miles off the coast of the Outer Banks sitting in 50-60 feet of water. After some digging I found another listing (https://extportal.pbs.gsa.gov/ResourceCenter/PRHomePage/loadProperty.do?propId=15365) , with videos and schematics. Bidding starts at $15,000 but the estimates for repairs start at 2.3 million.

https://extportal.pbs.gsa.gov/RedinetDocs/uploadedFiles/marketing/Diamond%20Shoals%20MAINpicture_300x300.jpg

If only I had won the lottery. I see nothing but potential as a diving site and fishing retreat. Folks would pay loads to stay at such a location. It would also be a great place to practice seasteading. I'd add solar panels, wind turbines, and wave snakes for power. I'd install RO/DI filters for freshwater and have extensive plumbing to manage gray water and black water. I would have hydroponic gardens and have goats (meat, milk) and chickens (meat, eggs). I would add aquapods for fish farming.

What would YOU do, with this property?

[malinghi]

HOLY. SHIT.

http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=2634&d=1335489680

Why must the internet taunt me with things I can never have.

[Lyna]

that is friggin awesome. i would turn it into a mer-fortress. for all us mer-people to have a summer home...for sleeping, eating and breaks between frolicking in the water below. and hang fun toys from it into the water, like hoops to hang and swim thru....like bird toys. lol and there's be club parties at night. and no crazy neighbors.

[Merman Dan]

Three days left to bid on Diamond Shoals Light Station. No takers? ;)

[Merman Dan]

After viewing additional photos of the structure, coupled with ambiguous wording in the inspection document that seems to state repairs must be completed within 2 years, methinks I will let this one Rust In Peace. INSPECTION (https://extportal.pbs.gsa.gov/RedinetDocs/uploadedFiles/marketing/inspection.pdf) (PDF, 100+ pages with photos)

"The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000... provides a mechanism for the conveyance of Federally-owned historic light stations to qualified new stewards. The NHLPA gives priority to public bodies and non-profit corporations to acquire a historic light station at no-cost... If no steward is identified through this process, the NHLPA authorizes the General Services Administration (GSA) to conduct a public sale..." Since they could not even give this one away, it leads me to believe Diamond Shoals Light Station is unsalvageable.

In essence I would be bidding on $15,000 worth of scrap metal that would have to be removed, cleaned, and replaced. Also, the bid did not include the land beneath the tower. Is it worth $15,000 to buy the right to rebuild a dilapidated structure, without any rights to the land beneath it? Maybe. Possibly. The diving would be superb. The night sky would be unmatched. But having to restore what looks like a John Carpenter movie set would be daunting at best.

Now, if the land beneath/near the tower was included, I would establish a memorial reef made of concrete structures mixed with cremated remains, ala The Neptune Society. "The Graveyard of the Atlantic". The light station could be used for solar panels to power a neighborhood of undersea homes like the H2OME.